Forked Dreamscape
by origamirabbits
Summary: After saving Chloe from the abhorrent storm, Max continues to have dangerously vivid nightmares that pinpoint her worst fears down to the mark. Tonight's dream is way different when Max wakes up in a dreamscape with none other than Rachel Amber herself to guide her through. In this dream, Max will learn to face her insecurities when it comes down to Rachel and Chloe's relationship.
1. Forked Dreamscape

_The first few nights were rough for me._ There was that lingering sense of regret that I was half-ass expecting from the aftermath of the storm, but with either choice I chose, I would expect devastation. Playing God for a week was probably the scariest gift I've ever been given, but I'm no savior regardless of what I decided to do. Even if I did save Chloe, my recurring nightmares continued to remind me of the loss I left behind in Arcadia Bay.

When I felt Chloe stir from the hotel room bed, I lost all tension in my back remembering who I was with. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I turned towards her to see if she was just turning over in her sleep. Her hands reached out, patting the part of the bed where I should be laying. In the moonlight, I could see her sleepy eyelids slowly unfold, revealing tired sky blue eyes.

"Max, are you awake still? It's three am." Chloe mumbled sleepily, gently pulling me by my arm down into the hotel room bed. "Come on into bed. You need sleep."

"Maybe you're right."

There are some aspects of our relationship that definitely have changed since the storm passed. Now, I haven't confirmed with Chloe exactly what we are, but I feel like we're coming closer to figuring that out with each passing day. Kind of like how I had this inkling that Rachel was guiding us to the truth behind why Kate almost jumped. That's the last thing that I think of before being lulled to sleep by the sounds of Chloe's soft breathing.

What wakes me up tonight is the extremely cold feeling of concrete pressed against my cheek. The first thought that registers is wondering if I fell out of the hotel room bed. Then I realize that this is concrete, not the soft carpeted floor. Fear quickly sets in as I sit up quickly, examining my surroundings to get an idea of what nightmare I was going to experience tonight.

The room – or should I say place – I was confined in was pitch black, aside from the looming lights of the lighthouse in the far distance. The floor below me seemed to be sturdy enough, so I got up from the floor and started walking forward with unsure steps. It must have been ten seconds in when a girl's voice pierced the silence of the darkness.

"BOO-YAH!"

"What the fuck?" I whipped around so fast that I stumbled forward, falling into the arms of the person who scared the living daylights out of me. My eyes catch the hands of my savior first: Long slender fingers with a turquoise ring on the ring finger. My stomach churns as Rachel Amber stands in front of me, in the flesh, with a sweet smile on her face.

"Sorry, Max. I'm sure you're on edge right now. That was immature of me."

"H-How do you know my name?"

Rachel looked almost too enthusiastic to be meeting me, from noticing the gargantuan Cheshire cat grin that was making its way onto her face. All of my muscles seemed to tense up at the exact same moment, my stomach swimming with trepidation. Oh no, this is a personal nightmare.

"We're connected by Chloe. Look, I'll explain all the crazy shit later."

"Um, by any chance, do you know where we're at?"

As I was finishing my statement, the closest lights flickered on with the ones behind turning on shortly after. The clicks of the lights turning on resonated within the blackness loudly as if the void-like place wasn't large and expansive enough, reminding me of what the Bigfoots Stadium lights do every Friday. There was the museum of the week me and Chloe shared on the right mirroring another museum on the left where I could see the figures of Chloe and Rachel. My throat suddenly felt dry when it dawned on me where I was at. Before I woke up from that nightmare, Chloe brought me here. "Are you interested, Max? This is my world with Chloe."

The scene in Aladdin immediately came to mind, where Aladdin held his hand out to Jasmine while he stood on the magic carpet and she reluctantly grabbed it. In this scenario, you can guess who was which character. I took a hold on Rachel's hand a little too tightly, immediately alerting Rachel of my slight anxiety.

"By the way, you seem tense, Max. Are you worried about seeing something?"

 _Yes. I'm terrified of the power you have in my dreamscape._

"In this world, your innermost thoughts might as well be what you say out loud." Rachel casually mentioned, chuckling at my recent thought, most likely. Shit.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Rachel grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eyes. "Look, if something makes you uncomfortable, I'll make sure to avoid the memory entirely."

One moment, we were standing at the split of the wishbone path; The next, we were at the first memory of Chloe and Rachel's becoming. The place was vaguely familiar as Mr. Jeffershit's – whoops, I mean Mr. Jefferson's – old classroom. Chloe was seated beside Rachel in class looking slightly bored and staring over at what Rachel was drawing. My heart went into heavy palpitations when I realized Chloe had that artwork as a tattoo sleeve.

"Later in our friendship, I get a star Chloe drew for me, even though she can barely draw stick figures, tattooed on my wrist. You might recognize this artwork."

"Yeah, I do…" My voice trails off expectantly as the voices of Rachel and Chloe come to life.

Chloe: _"Damn, that's some badass artwork. I can barely draw stick figures."  
_ Rachel: _"Yeah. Anyone who's in this class can barely draw a circle."  
_ Chloe: _"Glad to know I'm sitting by the class smartass."  
_ Rachel: _"That's what I'm here for."  
_ Chloe: _"Seriously, your art portfolio is fucking impressive."  
_ Rachel: _"That means a lot to me. Thank you. Speaking of, I never see you talk to anyone."  
_ Chloe: _"Nobody ever comes up to me unless they need something. I'm starting to wonder if I'm carrying the avian flu or some stupid shit like that."  
_ Rachel: _"You're not scary to me. In fact, that's what makes you interesting to me."_

It's casual conversation, but I can hear Rachel's excitement in her voice to finally be acquainted with Chloe. "Before that conversation, I wanted to get to know Chloe. It was an admiration thing since she had this don't-give-a-shit personality where she does what she wants. That's what made her unapproachable to others, but that made me curious to learn about her since I wanted to know her secrets."

That makes me think of magnets, and how it proves that opposites attract. Rachel is popular, while Chloe is in the midst of a downward spiral into a hole of isolation. Maybe Rachel was the one who pulled her out of that hole, thus why Chloe thought of Rachel as an "angel."

"When we were kids, Chloe was always the badass out of the both of us. I was the shy loser who went along with whatever crazy thing Chloe convinced me to do, like our secret wine tasting sessions we used to do."

"You were special to Chloe. I could tell in the way she would talk about you."

"Really?" No kidding. What Joyce said Wednesday to me about Chloe telling Joyce she wishes she could be more like me may have been the truth. "Wowser."

The next memory featured Rachel and Chloe skateboarding in the parking lot of the school. In a black t-shirt and denim ripped jeans, Rachel looked more punk rock than Chloe was. Rachel was in midair on the board with her mouth open in an open grin while Chloe pointed a purple camera in Rachel's direction.

Rachel: _"Art isn't the only thing I want to be good at."  
_ Chloe: _"I'm not ready to hear about your sexual fantasies."  
_ Rachel: _"Shut up. I want to be a model. Maybe I don't have the height, but I have the ambition."  
_ Chloe: " _Big dreams for a small town girl, but you could totally hit it off. You're gorgeous."  
_ Rachel: _"I've had this dream ever since I was a child. Don't make fun of me."  
_ Chloe: _"Did you not hear me just compliment you? You could totally do it."  
_ Rachel: _"Hey, take a picture of me, will you? For my modeling scrapbook?"  
_ Chloe: _"Oh yeah. Yeah. Of course."_

A sound of a camera shutter finished off the conversation, as if it was to tie up the loose ends. Even with the nervous feeling swimming around in my stomach, I was anxious to see where this leads. This definitely didn't seem like a nightmare, so was it a dream? Can I even trust Rachel Amber in this dreamscape?


	2. Rachel's Secrets

_Definitely not kids anymore, that's for damn sure.  
_

__I recall glancing over at Chloe 2.0 resting her elbow on the car door in the driver's seat as she drove, while I soaked in what could probably be the craziest fucking moment of my day. My normal Mondays have turned a new leaf, it seems. The dynamics of this Chloe was pretty transparent. As for me, well...I'm not surprised Chloe recognized me first. Unlike me, there was more changes in Chloe, with her lightning-blue hair and bright nails to match.

When I watched Arcadia Bay turn to smithereens, that was the first thought to cross my mind. Anybody with memories of their childhood in a nostalgic place like this would had their world shaken. Despite the horrors Arcadia Bay has been hiding for months now, it still holds many powerful memories for me, for Chloe, for us both. Unfortunately, you can't have glory without sorrow; light without shadow; color without chiaroscuro. That's what my nightmares represent to me: the negatives. 

"Sounds like symptoms of PTSD. I wouldn't blame you. You've seen some shit." 

Everything seemed to happen so quickly these days, with or without my powers. The fear looming overhead my head was losing Chloe again. That was my shadow. It prevented me from using my powers after the storm ceased. "Jesus, I hope not. I want these nightmares to end already." 

"You'll be doing more wishing than having them granted in life, it seems." 

I pinched the bridge of my nose in slight irritation, letting out an prolonged groan. All I wanted to do is move on and start over. Even whenever I got the chance to start over multiple times, look where it brought me. You know what? Here's an idea, Chloe's destiny: Go fuck yourself. 

"Damn, Max. You've become hardcore over the past few days." Rachel commented, giving me a nod of approval as she glanced over at me. That's when I noticed my attire – simple pajamas. "Oh yeah." 

Rachel snapped her fingers, and I could feel fresh new fabrics materialize onto my body quicker than I could react. Monday's choice of attire was the outfit Rachel chose for me, my gray jacket absent of the smell of rain water from Friday's storm which soaked the fabric. "Woah." 

"Let's continue."

Motionless in time was Chloe sitting in Rachel's dorm room while Rachel was in the middle of a heated conversation with her parents. Rachel's dorm room reminded me of Chloe's bedroom in the current timeline, making me wonder if Rachel extended to changing Chloe's life down to the smallest of things.

Rachel: _"Look, I don't want to talk about this shit right now, okay? It's your fucking problem. Don't take it out on me when I have nothing to do with it. Treat me like an adult or don't talk to me at all."_  
Chloe: _"Damn. I'd pay you to scream at me like that. That was fucking hot."_  
Rachel: _"Ha-ha. I'm just sick and tired of being grilled by my parents for stupid shit. They're like fucking children instigating trouble within my circle. So much negative vibes with them."_  
Chloe: _"Maybe a new smoke and hangout spot is in order..."_  
Rachel: _"I have an idea. After school, meet up with me in the parking lot."  
_ Chloe: _"Wait, why?"  
_ Rachel: _"We're going to our new hangout spot, of course!"_

Like how the lighthouse was to me and Chloe, the junkyard became Chloe and Rachel's birth of many memories. American Rust, Chloe calls it, "a home away from hell." I know she's talking about David being the main hell in her life. Even Chloe would run away from her problems too. 

"Chloe wasn't the only one who had issues in her life." Rachel says as we make haste to the next memory, and my curiosity piques. If there was a line graph, it would have peaked. 

"What was your problems?"

"You'll see."

Approaching the next memory, I saw Rachel and Chloe holding cans of spray paint grinning at each other like they're in their own worlds together. There's a splotch of paint on Chloe's cheek, and she grins like she's twelve again. They're in the shed, marking their territory by writing their names against the wall where I wrote mine. My head feels like it's bursting at the seams. 

Rachel: _"I call this place American Rust. Pretty rough around the edges, but it's my safe haven."_  
Chloe: _"Hey, I'm an open minded person. This is a pretty cool hang out spot."_  
Rachel: _"Now we can smoke without the worry of getting caught in this place."_  
Chloe: _"Weird question: Is there a reason, besides getting high with me, that you still hang out with someone like me?"_  
Rachel: _"Someone like you? Chloe, you're the first person whose seen my dark sides, and you're asking me that question out of nowhere?"_  
Chloe: _"You know what I mean. You have this approachable aura while I don't."_  
Rachel: _"Then we'll just have to fix that. Let's mark our territory."_

 __

"You know." Rachel pipes up from beside me. "This was two weeks into knowing Chloe personally, and we gravitated towards each other like magnets quickly. It took me another week to discover Chloe was bisexual. That's what made me nervous since I was terrified of Chloe discovering that I preferred older men over the dumb Blackwell boys."

"Did you ever..."

"Have a crush on Chloe?" Rachel knew what I was thinking, finishing it for me. "Oh no. I was well aware of her crush on me, so that's why I tried to keep my relationships with older men secret." 

Whew. "Knowing of her crush, did it jeopardize your relationship with Chloe?" 

"That's why I wasn't exactly in hopeless romantic mode around Chloe." 

In the next memory, you could see the starting development of Chloe's blue hair in her natural blonde hair. Chloe and Rachel seemed to be dancing in the trunk of Chloe's truck booming out music. You could hear them yelling and singing over the music a song I recognized: Rule The World by Walk Off The Earth was booming through Chloe's stereo. 

Rachel: _"They say no way, oh, I say I'll rule the world!"_  
Chloe: _"Ain't afraid of the walls, I'm a break 'em down!"_  
Rachel: _"They stay the same, oh, I'm feelin' high as a bird!"_  
Chloe: _"Ain't afraid of the ground, I'm a stay up!"  
_ Rachel/Chloe: _"I say yeah, yeah, yeah, they say no no no. they say slow, slow, slow, I say go, go,  
go. they say no way, oh, I say I'll rule the world! I say I'll rule the world."_  
Rachel: _"Sorry, can we take a break? I'm tired."_  
Chloe: _"I haven't felt like this in ages."_  
Rachel: _"Free? Like you can take on the world?"_  
Chloe: _"Like I'm feelin' high as a bird."_  
Rachel: _"You sure you're not actually high?"_  
Chloe: _"Shut up. I'm sure."_

"Those powers you have, Max..." Rachel started, "When I knew you would come back to Arcadia Bay, I gave you my powers in hopes that you wouldn't abuse the power like what I did. I was hoping you would find Chloe. Find me. Arrest Nathan and Mr. Jeffershit." 

Now this—this was breaking the strange scale for me. "You had powers?" 

"Abused mine, resulting in my death by Nathan's hands." 

Joyce told me that Rachel and Chloe together in the same room was a recipe for disaster, so I couldn't imagine Rachel being responsible with her powers. There was a rebellious side to Rachel, as I slowly unraveled the facts I've noted of Rachel out onto the table. "Those powers were my problems, among other things. I didn't know at the time that my carelessness would cost me my life." 

My vision was being clouded with tears. "Rachel..." 

"There was nothing you could do to save me, Max." She plastered on a reassuring grin. "But you did your best to find me and you stood bravely in the face of danger. That's more than enough for me."


	3. Chloe's Secrets

Ralph Waldo Emerson quoted fear defeats more people than any one thing in the world. Now I understand. After experiencing the most crippling fear in the dark room and having to bravely look at the things I fear most in the face in my nightmares, I was throwing up the white flag by the time I came to, overlooking the lighthouse with Chloe. _As long as she's alive_ , I thought, _I could give a shit less about anything else_. It would kill me to live in a world where Chloe wasn't there, and it took the storm to realize how deep my feelings for Chloe run. That's what scares me.

 _Look at what you've went through for that girl, Max. You've watched her die multiple times, didn't you? But you came into this, saw it through, and conquered through all the bullshit. Wowser, Max Caulfield. You really are in love with Chloe._

"Are you really referencing Shakespeare in this situation, Max?"

"He's one of the greatest poets and authors of all time."

"I prefer...Edgar Allan Poe." Rachel nodded. "Did you know he was a central figure during the Romanticism period? I love his Gothic-themed writings."

"Name one of his writings that isn't the Raven."

"The Fall of the House of Usher." Rachel proudly exclaimed, surprising me. Wowser, she doesn't seem like the type of girl who would know her classic literature. She earns points in my book.

Moments later, we walked up to a memory of Chloe blushing furiously, tilting her neck up while Rachel held the two bullet shells hanging from her necklace in her hands as they were standing in Rachel's dorm room. "Oh man, Max. You're gonna lose your shit at this memory."

 _Rachel: "You seem to wear this all the time. Why do you wear this? Are these able to be used?"  
Chloe: "Of course not. They symbolize the important people that have abandoned me. Even though I'm pretty sure it's unintentional that they had to leave, it's still painful."  
Rachel: "William and Max, right? Those are the people you talk about a lot, after all."  
Chloe: "Yeah. If I could go back in time to prevent my Dad from taking his vehicle that day, maybe it wouldn't be so painful."  
Rachel: "How about Max?"  
Chloe: "If she had stayed, it would have been much less of a burden to bear by myself."  
Rachel: "Seems like you two were really close."  
Chloe: "Yet I was the only one who was thinking of the possibility of becoming more than best friends with Max. Just my luck that I have to find out I'm bisexual because of my childhood bff."_

My shock level was equivalent to being slapped in the face with a fish. There is a plot twist that I was completely out of the loop of. No wonder why, as kids, Chloe didn't seem too interested in guys. Her mind was completely focused on me, but it wasn't like I minded being her first priority.

"Chloe hid her feelings for you away in order to continue being friends with you. At least, that's what she told me." Whenever I glanced over at the still-life models of Chloe, my stomach felt like a fish out of water flopping around. "A part of me knows Chloe understood the concept that you would have left regardless of what happened to William."

Rachel was that close that she doesn't call him by Chloe's Dad. "And part of me believes that Chloe was actually scared to see you. I don't think she wanted to hide her feelings from you again."

"Did Chloe ever show you her feelings?" I asked, nervous and curious at the same time.

The next memory featured Chloe and Rachel overlooking the Willamette River at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. That's when I knew they were in downtown Portland, Oregon. Chloe must have some great memories with Rachel. The look on Chloe's face looked like she was about to puke.

Rachel: _"You haven't been looking good all night. Is everything alright?"_  
Chloe: _"Alright, look, I know I'm taking a great leap of faith saying this, and you know I'm not into that mushy shit, but tonight has been absolutely perfect. I can only wish every day would consist of roadtrips to Portland with you to pick up vinyl, Voodoo Donuts, and getting high as balls together in this park."_  
Rachel: _"Where are you heading with this?"_  
Chloe: _"Why do you think I could barely finish my Maple Blazer Blunt donut?"_  
Rachel: _"Because you said you'd probably puke it up?"_  
Chloe: _"Do I have to spell it out for you? I'm falling in love with you."_  
Rachel: _"Chloe, I... I can't..."_  
Chloe: _"I just wanted to let you know how I feel. That's all."_

This is so unfair. When I think back to exactly one week ago, I was in the farmhouse looking for information about Nathan Prescott, the same farmhouse that conceals the dark room. Even with my mind still stalling on that memory of Chloe daring me to kiss her, questions of Rachel Amber's disappearance lingered in the air. Then we found Rachel Amber. Dead.

 _This is just a dream,_ I reminded myself.

"Think of this how you want." Rachel replied earnestly to my unspoken thought. "Here. Take a photo."

I reached down to my camera bag, pulling out the camera Chloe gave to me last Monday. It seems like a thousand years has passed since then, yet this camera is still working in perfect order. Even though this camera has been through the wear and tear of time travel with me, it still works perfectly. I pointed the lens at Rachel, who threw the hand horns sign in my direction and stuck out her tongue.

 _Why does she remind me of Victoria Chase right now? That's right, I'm thinking of that picture of Victoria that I found with Nathan Prescott._

As the camera made the familiar soft purring sound, I pulled out the photograph gently shaking it around in my hand. I held the edges gently watching the white wash slowly receive color. In the center of the photo was Rachel doing her dorky pose with the black background shadowing it. "So I can take photos of you, even in my dreamscape. It reminds me of that picture I took of the graffiti: Chloe Price forever."

"That forever is something you can be certain of now." I saw Rachel smiling over at me. I believed her smile. "Anyway, I'm not a fan of mushy shit either. Let's move on."

Both of the girls were in tattoo chairs getting tattoos. Chloe's right hand held onto Rachel's left hand since that was the only free arms on both of the girls. Chloe's tattoo on her shoulder trailing down the left side of her arm looked finished, and Rachel's wrist was flipped over to get the star tattoo. Star tattoos seem to be overused concepts of symbolism. Both of them had looks on their faces like they ate something sour. Mental note: Don't ever get a tattoo, Max Caulfield.

Chloe: _"Thank God this is almost finished. It hurts like a bitch."_  
Rachel: _"Don't be a baby. I told you if you need to hold my hand, here it is."_  
Chloe: _"Thanks. I can't believe you're actually getting that star I drew tattooed on you."_  
Rachel: _"Think of it as thanks that you're getting my dumb artwork as a tattoo."_  
Chloe: _"I'm surprised you're not getting that hella rad dragon you drew on you."_  
Rachel: _"That's for a later date, if I survive today."_  
Chloe: _"You act like you're dying."  
_ Rachel: _"Because I am."_

"The Chinese Dragon that I tattooed on myself later – " Rachel starts, "– is supposed to be symbolism for things like luck, power, self-confidence, consistent successes and high achievements. I have high dreams, and I was willing to do anything to achieve them."

"Anything?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly eager on the idea of having sex with any creepy directors to get a spot in a film. Even though I've had flings with random guys before, doing something like that isn't worth screen time." Rachel twisted her hands in a rotating motion as if to swipe that thought to the side. "Whatever."

Something clicked in my head. A memory.

Me: _"So...you never really told me if you had a serious boyfriend while I was away..."_  
Chloe: _"Not serious. Hella stupid, usually. I went through a 'boy toy' phase. Among other things...that's why I was glad Rachel came and rescued me."_

"Wait a minute. Don't you dare fucking tell me that you and Chloe..."

"Believe me. Nothing bad happened between me and Chloe."

From the look on Rachel's face, she could tell without having to read my mind that I wasn't buying this bullshit she was spewing. "Look, if you're going to surprise me with you two kissing, do it now."

"Fine." Rachel exclaimed, leading me to the next memory. This memory made bile rise up the back of my throat. Imagining it was one thing, but seeing it was a whole other story. Chloe and Rachel were on their knees, leaning over to kiss each other over a bottle. "It was a drunk game of spin the bottle where the person who spins it can determine if they want to kiss or slap the person they chose."

Wowser, I could tell Chloe was completely inebriated by the way she was slurring her words.

Chloe: _"Rachel, come back in here."_  
Rachel: _"So what did you choose?"_  
Chloe: _"That."_  
Rachel: _"You left fucking slobber on my cheek. What are you? Pompidou?"_  
Chloe: _"Don't lie. You enjoyed kissing me, didn't you?"_  
Rachel: _"In your dreams. I'm gonna head back to the dorm before lights out."  
_ Chloe: _"You're drunk, Rachel. What if you get hurt?"  
_ Rachel: _"I'm a tough cookie. You worry about me like my grandma."_

"Chloe doesn't remember that." Rachel chuckled. "And I'm glad she doesn't. During a break with Frank, I did this. Even I have secrets. So does Chloe, but that doesn't make her any less of a bad person, right?"

"Yeah." All I wanted was for this to get over with, so I can jump back into the reality with Chloe involved. I was well-aware Rachel was listening in, but I didn't care. If anything, I wanted her to know how distressing this was to me. Suddenly, I felt like I was floating out of my body, out of this dream, into the safe reality where Chloe is with me, when I felt something yank me down.

It was Rachel.


	4. Max's Secrets

" _Now where the hell do you think you're going? I'm not finished yet!"_

Rachel is the last voice I want to hear right now. Now I'm crying like a baby babbling about something about wanting all of these nightmares to end. About how none of them let me leave no matter how hard I fight them. It all hits me, at this moment in time. The tears coming down my face feels so real, and the pangs in my stomach are vehement.

When I look back up, the blackness of the dreamscape was starting to warp into a dark red worrying me. If I rewound back too far with my powers, I would see my vision turn red like this for a moment. _Do I still have my powers? I'm afraid to figure out that answer._

"Max, let me finish." Rachel looked like she was pleading. "Please."

My shoes suddenly looked more interesting as I avoided her eyes. Damn it, my backbone is as bendable as a paperclip. No wonder why I can't refuse those eyes. "No more of this shit."

"Pinkie promise." She holds out her pinky, and I do the same. Our pinkies curl around each other, as if they're hugging. Her hand pulls back, and we head to the next memory.

The transformation of Chloe's blue hair is finally complete in this memory. Before Rachel looked over at me, I wiped the drool that was literally hanging out of my mouth. Damn. I have a soft spot for vintage cameras, puppies, and now blue hair apparently. They're sitting on the other side of the train tracks, the woods behind them as they share a rolled blunt.

Rachel: _"Once we get enough dough, we're heading to Cali. Just the two of us."_  
Chloe: _"That sounds like a fucking plan: Get the fuck out of bigfootville and into the big time."_  
Rachel: _"There's nothing I want more than a new start."_  
Chloe: _"Don't we all?"_  
Rachel: _"Oh well. We're going to rule the world."_  
Chloe: _"I'm pretty sure you're not going to be President of the United States."_  
Rachel: _"That's not the power I want, but I want enough power so I can be free to do my thing."_  
Chloe: _"Land of the free? More like land of the confined and home of the cowards."_

Everything seems normal between both of them. Nothing has changed, which lets me be able to breathe again. I've constantly been on edge, waiting for something else to fucking pop out, since that kiss. "There is nothing else, Max. I promise you. Seriously."

"Look, I'm insecure about myself." And it all comes pouring out. "That has always been my biggest battle before I ever gotten those powers, so it was nice being able to bend time to my will. It was like erasing and rewriting something down in its place. Something better. That's why I always weighed the pros and cons of each situation in my head before I decided on something."

"I get that." Rachel says, "You have to understand something, though. Max, your absence weighed on Chloe's conscious a helluva lot. Even I felt insecure about my friendship compared to you."

"That's not it."

"After Chloe got her closure, Max, it was difficult for her to readily open up her heart. After you chose to save Chloe, her heart opened up to you." Rachel takes small steps forward to the next memory, and I stiffly follow. "Compared to me, I'm glad she fell in love with you. I wasn't really a good influence on Chloe at all."

The moment we stop, the setting is familiar to me: Chloe's house. More specifically, Rachel and Chloe are in the dining room being loud as fuck playing on Mario Kart on the television set. With this, I understand why Joyce called her a "hell-raiser" and why Nathan Prescott described Rachel as a "fiend on her own."

Rachel: _"What the fuck was that, Chloe?!"_  
Chloe: _"I'M GOING TO SHOVE THAT BLUE SHELL SO FAR UP YOUR ASS…"_  
Rachel: _"Not if I do it first to you, asshole."  
_ Chloe: _"Dude, that's cheating. Don't you dare use that power-up."_  
Rachel: _"Whoops. My finger slipped. Invincibility, bitch. Oh sorry, did you die?"_  
Chloe: _"YOU PASSED ME UP."  
_ Rachel: _"Like they say, karma's a bitch, right?"_

"Joyce and David never liked me around." Rachel mentions, looking passive about it. "It was like I was a nuisance to them, so it seemed to make sense that they liked you better."

"You're not a bad person. I know you're not."

"They didn't believe that."

For me, it would slightly bother me if Joyce had a problem with me. It didn't matter if David had a problem with me, hence why I yelled at him about the creepy surveillance that he's been keeping up to date with. There was no way I was going to bitch out Chloe. "As long as Chloe made you happy, then that makes me happy."

"Thanks, Max. I'm glad I entrusted my powers with you."

"I'm not glad." I attempt to say that in a joking manner while cracking a grin, but it ends up turning into a weird grimace. "Man, I can't even joke about crap like that."

"We're almost done, hippie."

We walk up onto the last memory, and the light house looms overhead shadowing this memory. I notice that there is no possible way to get up to the lighthouse unless I climb up the steep side of it, and start worrying. Rachel and Chloe are in the secret hideout in the junkyard, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and bottles of beer. The light spins around in its mirror globe, glaring its light onto the two still-life girls who are smoking out of a bong.

Rachel: _"Chloe, I have something I…"  
_ Chloe: _"So there I was, furiously scrubbing the carpet. I wanted to get that damn wine out so bad. I suggest to Max to remove the carpet entirely, and look inside the garage for something."_  
Rachel: _"Look, Chloe, I…"_  
Chloe: _"We find nothing, and go back inside. Defeated, Max suggests we move the couch."_  
Rachel: _"Come on. I've heard this story before."  
_ Chloe: _"Let me finish. I like telling this story."  
_ Rachel: _"Fine, continue."  
_ Chloe: _"To sum it up, Dad finds out about the Max and Chloe wine tasting sessions, and grounds us. Dad's lenient, so the punishment is an entire day without electronics. That was torture."_

"That note you found – of someone changing my life – that was what I was trying to tell Chloe while she was baked. She's more easygoing when she's high on weed, so I took it as a perfect opportunity. Since I couldn't do it that day, I left a letter in that shed meaning to give it to her."

"Then poof?"

"Poof, thanks to the asshole teacher you came back in town for."

My eyes glance back up at the lighthouse, my vision starting to warp into a dark red again. "It's about time for you to go back. You need to be proud of yourself, Max, because you changed Chloe's perspective on a helluva lot of shit in the past two weeks in a positive way. Look at it that way."

The warped dark red void suddenly starts raining blue butterflies, kind of like the butterfly I took a picture of in the girl's restroom Monday, and a cloud of butterflies pick me up carrying Chloe's voice. I hear Chloe's voice yelling out for me somewhere out in the dark red abyss flooding with blue butterflies. My hand reaches out to her, wherever she is. Her voice sounds like the sun. I want to feel the heat of her skin. I want to feel her warm presence. "Max, wake up!"

And I jolt out of my slumber, head butting Chloe in the process.


	5. Unraveling, Unfolding, Unwinding

_"_ _Fuck!" We scream in unison._

Both Chloe and I are holding our foreheads, but I'm staring over at Chloe like she's the warmest thing this planet has to offer. This girl sitting across from me makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. What a great way to wake up, seriously. Even though my hands are eager to reach out to her, I restrain myself but allow myself to think of how adorable sleepy Chloe is to me. _At least she can't read my mind_ , I think, unconsciously smiling to myself.

"What's with that sadistic grin, hippie?" Chloe throws a pillow at me, falling back down into the bed with another covering her face. "Don't find humor in my pain. Help me like what you always do. Get me an ice pack."

When I grab the small bucket for ice in the restroom, a strong whiff of iron makes my eyes water. It should be a warning, but I don't think anything of it. And I'm halfway down the hall when my nose starts bleeding. The bucket clutters to the ground, and I feel like I've jumped out of a plane with a broken parachute. That gut-dropping feeling that makes you sick, that's exactly 90% of how I felt. Plus 10% like I killed someone.

"No, no, no..." I mumble to myself wiping the blood onto my wrist. "Stop, please."

The blood continues to spill from my nostrils, and I nearly have a panic attack on the third floor of this run-down hotel. Both my thumb and my pointer finger presses my nostrils together, and I tilt my head back.

 _Max Caulfield, do not freak out. Not yet. You're not even sure you have your powers anymore._

The thought crosses my mind to stretch out my hand to check. That idea is quickly discarded as soon as it's imagined. When I'm sure the blood has stopped flowing, I release the pressure on my nose, checking it in the reflection of a mirror hanging in the hotel hallway. I pick up the ice bucket again, picking up a big ice scoop to shovel some ice into the bucket when a voice pipes up behind me.

"That was a hell of a head butt, Max." Chloe's behind me in the nightie we bought at Walmart (since we didn't want to wear our wet clothes to bed) wearing this sleepy grin. "I almost saw the stars when you did that."

"Sorry for taking so long. Oh, and about the headbutt."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, right." I mutter under my breath, and Chloe elbows me in the ribs because she still hears my sarcastic comment. She seems to be more awake now, because she grabs one of the ice cubes and chews on it. "Why do you chew on the ice cubes? That's weird."

"It's basically eating frozen water, Max."

That argument is probably the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while. It's five thirty in the morning, and I'm cracking up in the hallway of this hotel over something as stupid as eating frozen water. Chloe laughs with me, and I decide her laugh is my favorite sound in the world. "Let's go to the room."

I decide not to tell her about the bloody nose. Not yet, anyways.

"Woah. Why is it so hot in here?" I ask out loud to nobody in particular. The room seems to be a sauna when we walk in together. I open up the curtains slightly, letting the cool breeze rush into the room. I take a deep breath of fresh air, and turn back around to Chloe. "Hopefully that makes it cool in here."

"I don't know, Max." Chloe waggles her eyebrows playfully towards me. "It's probably just me."

"Riiiiiight." I sarcastically reply. "You're looking at the hottest person alive."

I strike a pose, and Chloe looks at me with a confused smile on her face for a moment. Probably trying to figure out why I'm such a fucking dork. "Probably right about that, Caulfield. You're pretty hot."

I want to ask, " _Are you in love with me like I am with you?"_  
I want to ask, " _Do you still have feelings for Rachel?"_  
I want to ask, _"Are you mad at me for the choice that I made?"_

Instead, I ask, _"Is your head doing better?"_

That's what I ask instead of the questions piling up in my head, buried underneath the cement of fear. I don't dare jinx this perfect moment between us, in fear of completely ruining it.

"That's what I should be asking you, Mad Max."

As I'm turned around, scooping ice into a plastic bag, I sneak a glance towards Chloe whose kicked back in a recliner near the window. This reminds me of the comfy chair in the Principle's office. Chloe must bring out the nostalgic side of me. And now that we're on the subject, she also brings out the hopeless romantic in me.

I make sure to purposely run my fingers against her cheeks on accident as I'm moving the ice pack to her forehead, and to lean in close to Chloe's face enough to feel the warm exhale of her breaths. At this point, Chloe seems to have an idea of what I'm trying to do so she raises a confused eyebrow. Without breaking eye contact, I feel her warm fingers come into contact with the cold skin on my arm, instantly giving me the worst goosebumps. The way she touches me now, like I'm fragile and precious to her, is different. I can feel her love in the way she touches me now, and I take note of this development.

I can tell something changes in the air, because Chloe drops her hand from her forehead and stares at me expectantly. There is three storms currently happening as we speak: In my head, stomach, and heart.

"Chloe..." I whisper her name, and I watch as her face reacts pleasantly to hearing her name come out of my mouth. My mouth almost blurts out the three words, and I clench my jaw. **Not now.** "Tell me about Rachel."

"It's nearly six in the morning, and you're asking me about this when I want to kiss you?" Chloe deadpanned, and I feel like I'm floating when she says that. Even if it was supposed to be humorous, I was flattered. Chloe smacks her thighs as she sits down on the edge of the bed, wide awake. "So what do you want to hear then?"

I think about kissing her since I have the green light to do so, but there's questions I need answered first before that. "Uh, what did you think of her when you first met her?"

"What everybody else thought: Talented, gorgeous, a little intimidating..." Chloe shrugged, taking the ice pack from my hands and pressing it to my forehead instead of hers. I think it's sweet. "Truth be told, I'm not sure what gave her the idea to be friends with me. I was unapproachable, but she helped me make friends. She seemed to make everything in my life better. Bearable. Easy to deal with, even if it wasn't in healthy ways."

"That's why Rachel Amber was your angel, right?"

"She seemed to be everybody's angel. Everyone could say they saw something good in Rachel. Maybe not Joyce and my Step-Dad at first, but they warmed up to her too." I noticed Chloe didn't hesitate when she said Step-Dad. Chloe has definitely came a full circle since meeting me. I can tell. "That's why it hurt. We shared so many memories together, even if they were small. They were important to me."

Chloe's words from the lighthouse resonate in my ears.

 _"Max, you finally came back to me this week, and you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years. Where ever I end up after this, in whatever reality, all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours."  
_

"Do you still love Rachel?" I ask, hoping she convinces me that she doesn't.

"When we found Rachel, it was the most depressing consolation I've ever received. The worst case scenario was that Rachel was dead. Even though I expected that, I wasn't prepared for the heartbreak. After you chose to save me, my heart opened back up. I want to let you back in." Chloe looks like she's surprised she's saying that herself. "You proved to me that your world without Chloe Price isn't a world worth living in, and that's what means so much to me. You mean so much to me. You've always meant so much to me, Max."

And I believe her. Every word."And I love you."

"What?"

"Scratch that, actually, I'm in love with you." Chloe mumbles out the sentence, but I barely hear it even over the early-risers with their suitcases rolling against the carpet outside of our hotel room. "And don't you dare rewind."

"Let me check something." This confidence comes out of nowhere. I'm sure it's developed rapidly as the days flew by, but I stretch out my hand in front of me. One second passes. Two. Then five seconds pass. Nothing happens, and I'm looking like an idiot dumbly holding my hand out in front of Chloe's face. "Nothing..."

I reach up to my nose, feeling for blood. "My powers are gone..."

It feels like the cage I've been confined in opened for me. My body floods with buoyant energy, absent of the sluggish energy I've had since the storm. For the first time in a while, I feel overwhelmed with happiness knowing that bloody nose was just coincidence. Chloe is giving me a WTF expression, but gets the gist of what I'm trying to do. "Nothing?"

"Nothing..."

Despite my strong dislike of these powers, I silently thank them for bringing me and Chloe together again, for helping Chloe stay alive through all the bullshit deaths she had to be the victim of. "Powers or not, I will continue to love your bony white ass the same. I'll never be able to repay back this debt."

"Yes, you can."

I curl my fingers around her neck, and she's already one step ahead of me leaning in. It's everything that I could have asked for. That confirmation that Chloe Price is mine, and that I have nothing to be insecure of any longer. With that kiss, I could taste her eagerness for this moment. And it's all I could have asked for.

"Pay me back with those."

"Fair trade."


End file.
